Above Destiny

Chapter 569 A Show of Force and a Successful Start
Amidst the spreading blood, the Prosperity slowly docked.

With a soft click, the ship came to a stop, and the last bit of its remaining force carried the corpse from the bow, which drifted away in the wind.

On the dock, the throng of people stirred and made a great commotion.

In the port where the state of alert had just been lifted, the crowds coming and going looked at the strange ship full of corpses with curiosity, and some even gathered around to watch the spectacle from a short distance away.

Some people even took out their phones to take pictures.

It was a naval port, after all. Everyone had seen everything: magnificent and arrogant fleets, super-giant phlogiston transport ships, as well as dilapidated warships and the latest weapons.

I've never seen anything so bizarre.

The art style seems completely different from everyone else's.

As the warehouse doors slowly slid down, the figure standing at the entrance appeared before everyone. He waved, and the Haichao staff waiting at the dock drove over to unload the cargo.

There's no need for Ji Jue to waste his breath.

Amidst the resounding footsteps, the activated riot cats lined up in perfect unison, emerged from the ship's cabin, stepped onto the ramps, and boarded the trucks.

Ji Jue had already taken the initiative to walk towards Tong Shan, who had been waiting for a long time.

The two of them simultaneously reached out their hands, then hovered them in mid-air. They glanced at each other, unable to suppress their smiles any longer. After withdrawing their hands, they opened their arms and gave each other a big hug.

Compared to when he was in Yacheng, Tong Zhizi has become much darker, fully integrated into the local environment. He has an extra scar on his arm, and his whole demeanor is different from before.

While remaining calm and composed, he now possesses a touch more sharpness and intensity.

On the other hand, Ji Jue seems to remain the same as before.

But this appearance has hardly changed since Tong Shan first met him; at most, it's just the hypocrisy and pretense of a craftsman.

What Tong Shan noticed was actually those eyes.

Does it look a bit darker now?

Tong Shan felt as if he were a fire smoldering in charcoal.

"The welcoming ceremony was a bit over the top, Brother Shan."

Ji Jue greeted him with a grin.

"The exaggerated welcoming ceremony isn't the problem, is it? Look for the reasons within yourself."

"I brought some local specialties with me. If no one wants them, I'll just pack them up myself."

Ji Jue smiled and looked at the bearded soldier smoking a cigar not far away: "And who is this?"

"Let me introduce you. This is Major Liang, the commander of the Tacheng Rapid Reaction Force," Tong Shan said. "He's my friend."

Hearing the word "friend" from Tong Shan's mouth, Ji Jue's smile became even warmer: "Nice to meet you, I'm Ji Jue, deputy director of the R&D department at Haichao Military Industry."

I occasionally develop some consumer products on the side; please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything.

"No need to say anything more, your family's tricycles are everywhere outside the city. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Liang Mo smiled, shook hands, but his gaze was fixed on the bow of the ship, where three corpses swayed in the wind. "Who are these people?"

"I didn't know them. I just happened to run into them on the road and gave them a ride."

Ji Jue glanced back and said, "The waves are a bit high, and everyone is a little damp. We'll find a place to hang them up and let them dry in the sun later."

"Is it tricky?" Tong Shan asked.

"So-so, but there's one guy whose fish-belly sword technique is incredibly refined, definitely a true disciple of Bai Lu." Ji Jue recalled that meticulously honed thrust and couldn't help but admire him. "Brother Shan, do you have any clues?"

It should be 'black gold stone'.

After a moment's thought, Tong Shan had an answer: "It's a five-person team that often uses this name to take orders in the wilderness market. They're quite popular locally."

That white deer should belong to the Bloodtooth lineage, but the true Bloodtooth lineage is far away in the Empire, so there's no need to worry about any loose ends or trouble.

The four orthodox lineages within the White Deer—scales, horns, claws, and teeth—are like the craftsman's credentials within the embers, belonging to the elite within.

The Bloodtooth lineage is classified as Teeth, specializing in offense. Also belonging to the Teeth lineage is Ji Jue's sweet little darling, Xiao An!

Although An's Fei Guang is a claw-type hunter finger, after Xiao An ran away from home, he replaced his matrix with the lost and extinct 'sword tooth' inheritance of the tooth type - Sword Echo.

Sheikhi, the subordinate of the Seeder, who had once met Ji Jue and was now remembered as an "old friend," originally belonged to the Scale faction. Otherwise, after his transformation, he would not have been given the evil and foolish name of "Corrupted Scale."

Despite their seemingly free and easygoing nature, the White Deer are actually internally hierarchical, with strict traditions and numerous rules and restrictions. White Deer with work and White Deer without work are essentially two different groups.

It's generally difficult to make a judgment until the action is taken.

After all, Bai Lu are all too damn good at hiding. They're all better than the last one. After turning into wolves, they hide even deeper and better. They run away at the slightest sign of trouble. Ji Jue has been searching for so long that he's even considering going back to his old ways and setting up a sting operation.

Upon hearing Tong Shan's brief explanation, Ji Jue couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

A five-person team? Then why are there only three of us?

He's almost driven to obsessive-compulsive disorder by the fact that two of his rare collectibles are missing!

I'll definitely have to round it up later!
Just by looking into his eyes, Tong Shan knew what he was up to. He shook his head and said, "The rest of them have probably already run away. Do you really expect them to have any camaraderie to help with revenge?"
There are plenty of groups like that in this desolate place; those with genuine friendship are actually very few and far between. You shouldn't worry about them.

"Tsk..."

Ji Jue's expression darkened.

"..."

Seeing that Ji Jue wasn't even putting on an act, Liang Mo's eyes twitched violently, and he asked curiously, "Who sent him?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask."

Ji Jue shrugged indifferently and asked, "Does it matter?"

Liang Mo paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Having served in the military for too long, he had become accustomed to the cutthroat competition within the army, forgetting that besides being a craftsman, he was also a representative of the military industry and an arms dealer.

Indeed, it's not important.

Whether or not this is true, rivals will remain rivals, and those who are destined to fight to the death will not become affectionate.

Money is a good thing; everyone wants it.

Even those phlogiston tycoons, experts, military industry peers, and many craftsmen in the Central Plains—those who seem to have no shortage of money—are precisely the ones who lack it the most.

It's just that what they want can no longer be bought with money.

That's why power, influence, and henchmen are needed, and that's why there are so many conflicts and hatreds.

Who did it might be important to Ji Jue, but it's completely unimportant to the representatives of Haichao Military Industry, because anyone could be a suspect. Given the opportunity, anyone would do it, and no one cares about such a small amount of money...

To be hit in the face with a stick before even entering the door is nothing more than a gentle breeze, a mere show of force.

Whether it's someone making a random, ill-conceived move behind the scenes, someone trying to escalate the situation so they can retaliate, or someone simply disapproving of newcomers getting involved, it doesn't matter.

Because Ji Jue will definitely do whatever he is supposed to do.

It doesn't matter who the opponent is.

Despite the apparent chaos in the Central Plains, every aspect was already occupied and overcrowded. In this prosperous and vibrant land, not a single coin was unclaimed.

If Ji Jue wants to achieve something, he will inevitably face enemies everywhere.

When they stab each other in the back in private, they leave no room for compromise, but on the surface, everyone smiles and shakes hands with each other warmly, as if they were all brothers and friends who had risked their lives for each other.

Thinking of this, Liang Mo couldn't help but sigh.

headache.

He was quite friendly, patting Ji Jue on the shoulder and sighing with emotion:
"Old Tong has helped me a lot. Logically speaking, Old Tong's friend is my friend, and you can come to me if you need anything... But to be honest, I'm a little afraid of you coming to me."

"Ah, please don't worry." Ji Jue's smile warmed up, showing no signs of awkwardness. He leaned closer, put his arm around her shoulder, and she couldn't shake him off. "If I have the chance, I will definitely try my best to bother you."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, okay?"

Liang Mo rolled his eyes, sighed helplessly, and then laughed to himself.

"Alright, let's go. Just leave the boat here. Remember to pack it up quickly later. There's a security check at the base recently, so don't let anyone use it as an excuse."

After asking a few questions over the walkie-talkie, he waved to them: "Let's go. Breakfast time in the sergeant's mess hall is almost over. If you don't want to fight with the poor guys down there for donuts, hurry up."

We'll make do at the base for now; I'll treat everyone to a big meal in the city in a few days.

It's said to be just passable, but in reality... it's far beyond what one could have imagined.

Generally speaking, what you get to eat at these foreign military bases largely depends on the conscience of the commanding officers. But usually, the regular soldiers eat meager rations, while temporary workers and outsourced mercenaries are fed excrement.

But no matter what, the sergeant's mess hall is never that bad.

After all, it's easy to be shot in the back and commit suicide if you try to eat alone.

It's best to let a little bit slip through your fingers; that's a win-win situation for everyone.

The military base in Tacheng has four mess halls for non-commissioned officers, each with its own unique characteristics. Liang Mo took them to a restaurant with a distinctly Chinese style. The decor was quite local, luxurious yet tranquil, with a fragrance wafting in the air. If it weren't for the military uniforms of the people coming and going, Ji Jue would have thought he had entered a five-star restaurant.

Liang Mo made a gesture of three, and a waiter naturally came up and brought breakfast.

The kitchen was clean and the food was excellent. They also had a lot of local fruit juices that I had never tried before. The service was exceptionally attentive, and the experience was insanely good.

There was no sign of shortage of supplies or any inconvenience; it felt like being at a resort.

Human power is limitless. Even in the war-torn, chaotic, and turbulent Central Plains, a heaven can still be created. However, one should not ask what lies beneath heaven while indulging in pleasure.

After exchanging greetings, Tong Shan left. The Central Earth Security Bureau's operations department was already overflowing with troubles every day, and there was no time for the Empire to waste.

Given our relationship, there's no need for formalities; just contact me if you need anything.

Liang Mo, as a 'local,' then took him through the various procedures, and there were no difficulties or troubles as expected.

Haichao is, after all, a military industry, and it still has influence within the military. Even if some people are unhappy about it, they wouldn't make things difficult for Ji Jue over such a trivial matter as the handover.

As a representative of Haichao Military Industry, Ji Jue's job is to provide after-sales service, but the products haven't even been used yet, so after-sales service is out of the question.

The honorary rank of major was enough for him to enjoy all the most luxurious conveniences in the Central Plains while stationed at the military base.

Clean drinking water, excellent food, spacious single rooms, and even local or imperial-style call girls... The corridors of the officers' quarters are full of beautiful and hot young ladies who, as they pass by, will seemingly unintentionally try to hook their fingers with his or wink at him.

We're all out here to make money; whose money isn't money to be made?

The young ladies also want to eat something nice.

Unfortunately, Ji Jue had no appetite.

"My advice is to stay in the base and not wander around, but you probably won't listen to me, so just be careful." As they parted, Liang Mo waved and said, "If you encounter any danger, just run towards the base, and I'll meet you."

"You make it sound like I'm here to rob a bank." Ji Jue was amused.

"If you really wanted to rob a bank, I'd be relieved." Liang Mo shook his head, said nothing more, and left.

The rest is time for personal activities.

In principle, as a representative, he shouldn't be able to move around freely, but since we're talking about principles, then there's no such thing as principles.

So, if there's nothing else going on in the military, he'll have all his free time.

It's true that the base is very safe, but it's also troublesome. Everything you do is under someone else's watchful eye, which is very inconvenient and makes it difficult for Ji Jue to pull off any little surprises.

After finding a place to moor his boat, he planned to look for another place to stay.

After confirming the appointment time with the camp commander's secretary, he drove off in his Lamborghini.

People were already waiting at the camp entrance.

Ji Jue stopped the car, jumped out, and gave Yan Fei a hard slap on the back of the head. Then he took the cigarette butt out of Yan Fei's mouth and threw it aside.

Then he launched another kick.

I went through so much trouble to teach you to be good, but after just two days of not watching you, you're starting to look more and more like a little blondie!
Yan Fei was beaten so badly that he ran away with his head in his hands, while his younger brother in the back seat just kept laughing.

I've had enough of the excitement.

As Ji Jue's personal subordinates, they had arrived in Tacheng half a month in advance to prepare for related matters. Leading the team was Lao Gou, the president of Messenger Logistics, who had finally finished his work and could take a break.

Unfortunately, Ji Jue is quite short of management talent, and even fewer are reliable.

And those who are truly capable are even fewer.

Although he usually pretends to be an uncultured and rough man, and even takes a long time to hide it when writing a report, Ji Jue discovered that this bastard could actually speak Chinese when dealing with the people of the Red Gang!

Moreover, all four major languages ​​of Middle-earth are spoken, read, and written!
When Ji Jue asked, he was still pretending. Ji Jue was too lazy to care about any of that. He just grabbed him and said, "Get me to take up my post in Tacheng!"
As for Yan Fei, he had an awakening of his own consciousness when he got into a fight with the security team a few days ago.

What perfectly matched Ji Jue's expectations was that he awakened the Ember. What completely displeased Ji Jue, besides his abysmal academic performance, was that when he awakened on his own, the ability he gained was 'Intensification', which, simply put, caused everything he touched to explode.

Unfortunately, the fight took place in the toilet.

And so, this little gadget accidentally... blew up the toilet!

What a nightmare.

Imagine, when Ji Jue arrives, amidst the ruins of the toilet, he sees a little devil laughing wildly at the sky amidst a sky full of flying creatures…

While checking on his condition, Ji Jue discovered that Yan Fei's younger brother, Yan Chang, had also awakened on his own!
Even earlier than Yan Fei!

According to Ji Jue's speculation, after waking up from the dream, one becomes a chosen one when opening their eyes, but because their body and soul are too fragile, they cannot manifest themselves.

As for the highest good that it points to, congratulations, it is the heart pivot!
All I can say is that these two brothers are truly exceptional; they've managed to be ranked first and second on the list of the most virtuous and ethical individuals!
Since Yan Fei is such a rare talent, Ji Jue naturally wouldn't waste him. Currently, Yan Fei is still in the apprenticeship preparation stage. They'll deal with him after he finishes his academic studies. If that doesn't work, his younger brother can force-feed him the knowledge. As for Yan Chang's successor, Ji Jue is already looking for one.

However, when the two heard that Ji Jue was going to the Central Plains, they both volunteered. Considering the risks, Ji Jue originally wanted to refuse, but considering the shortage of manpower here, plus the killing intent sensing of the Heart Pivot and his own security level, staying to help out was not a bad idea.

We happen to be short of an HR person and a maintenance worker here. Since you want to work, let's adjust your job assignments.

After selecting a few people from the Central Plains who were willing to follow Ji Jue to expand the business from among the employees who had come to him in his dreams, the core team of Coastal Industries' branch was finally assembled.

In just half a month, Lao Gou had already set up the local leather goods store.

The main problem is finding the right people. Putting aside whether the people we do hire are reliable, their educational level is just too low. And besides, they're just too damn unreliable.

On the way into the city, Lao Gou kept cursing.

Renting an office in the most stable downtown area as Coast's office costs almost as much as in the East City Center, and everything is expensive—everything costs money, from food and drink to basic necessities.

Of course, there are also places where you don't have to spend money.

If you want to mess around and make changes in remote mountains or shantytowns outside the city, forget about safety and stability; you'll just lose all your reputation.

Because of the military base, the road to the city is almost as wide and smooth as that of Yacheng. Although it is slightly out of maintenance, at least there are no shell craters or mud pits.

The scene inside the city of Tacheng also changed everyone's preconceived notions about the Middle-earth.

Buildings rise one after another, the city center is bustling with activity, various shopping malls and luxury stores are clustered together, the roads are clean, people come and go, there is no dirt or disorder, and no beggars.

Because the gentlemen were kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the poor suffer or beg for food, they would secretly do good deeds at night by bringing purple eggs for everyone to eat. Once everyone had eaten their fill, they would stop coming.

So much so that white lotus flowers bloom in the muddy pond.

The city, built in a cesspool, is resplendent in gold.

"It must look beautiful when it's burning," Ji Jue murmured softly.

In the back seat, Lao Gou turned around blankly: "Boss, what did you say?"

I said it looks great.

Ji Jue answered with a smile.

Yan Chang, who was next to Lao Gou, was dozing off, as always, seemingly not hearing anything.

Meanwhile, Yan Fei, the underage driver who continued to drive, had successfully integrated into the local traffic division, skillfully weaving in and out of traffic, and then honking the horn incessantly.

The office building in the upscale shopping mall was decorated with great care. Although the offices were not large, they looked quite presentable.

Not a bad start.

After looking around, Ji Jue nodded slowly and repeatedly praised it as "thriving".

After listening to the new secretary's report, Lao Gou paused for a moment, took the envelope from her hand, and walked over: "Boss, this was delivered this morning, please take a look."

An envelope.

The envelope contained an invitation.

We cordially invite Mr. Ji Jue, the local representative of Hai Chao Military Industry, to grace the most luxurious hotel in Tacheng tonight with his presence to participate in a charity banquet themed on maintaining urban order and creating a better Tacheng.

The inviting party was Zhengrong Group, a local company in Tacheng.

Ji Jue glanced at it and smiled knowingly.

"Go, why don't you go?"

The name Zhengrong Group might sound confusing, but just looking at the faint "Huangji" logo on the trademark is enough to tell you that this is the local Huangji.

Whether the banquet was charitable or not is another matter, and whether it could maintain city order or create a better Tacheng is also not important; just look at the list of attendees later on.

It covers major military industrial enterprises in the Federation Empire and even the local area, as well as prominent representatives from all walks of life in the local area, and even the real focus - the commanders of the local military bases of both the Federation and the Empire!

This was a semi-public press conference used for internal communication and to communicate the positions and demands of both sides to the outside world!
No one cares which little Karami Ji Jue is; what matters is his identity as a representative of Haichao Military Industry.

If you really want to integrate into the local community, compete for market share, and make a difference, Ji Jue has no choice but to go, let alone be absent!

As for whether you'll be served a meal or just eaten there, that's another matter entirely.

"Fortunately, I brought a suit with me."

Ji Jue closed the invitation and put it in his pocket.

Regardless of whether they come with ill intentions, I'm not friendly either. Let's see who's the dragon and who's the snake!

(End of this chapter)